Heavy Duty Trucking, March 2018

CLASS 701C LED 7 PAR 56 Round Headlight UPGRADE TO PETERSONS LED HEADLIGHT MAX OUT YOUR MACK Scan this QR code to view info online www pmlights com Uber Waymo settle autonomous technology lawsuit Uber and Waymo have agreed to terms on a settlement in a lawsuit over alleged stolen autonomous vehicle technology which will give Waymo a stake in Uber and absolve the company of wrongdoing Waymo will reportedly receive a relatively small amount of equity in Uber equal to about 245 million or 034 of Ubers 72 billion value The two companies will also work together to ensure that Waymos technology in no way directly influenced Ubers own designs Uber stated that while it does not believe it has stolen any trade secrets or used Waymos proprietary self driving technology it will cooperate with Waymo to ensure the lidar and software represents the companys own work The lawsuit stems from an accusation last year by Waymo which is owned by Google parent company Alphabet alleging that certain trade secrets related to the companys custom built lidar light detection and ranging sensor technology were stolen by Uber employee Anthony Levandowski Levandowski worked for Waymo before leaving to start his own autonomous truck company Otto Otto was purchased by Uber and Levandowski became a key figure in the companys autonomous vehicle technology efforts As a result of the accusations Levandowski was forced to step down from his position and was later fired by Uber When ordered to testify in the lawsuit he invoked the Fifth Amendment to avoid self incrimination The trial finally began on Feb 5 and ended quickly on Feb 9 after a year of back and forth between the two companies Waymo and Uber have resolved a much publicized lawsuit centered on autonomous truck technology Details emerge on Tesla Semi charging network MARCH 2018 HDT 33 WWW TRUCKINGINFO COM PHOTO OTTO At the Tesla Semi truck launch in Hawthorne California last fall CEO Elon Musk made passing reference to a planned network of high capacity charging stations that would eventually be put in place to recharge his electric trucks and extend their daily range Details on that network were sparse however Reuters recently learned that Musk and Tesla are collaborating with several logistics leaders in North America to put the beginnings of that charging network in place According to the report Anheuser Busch PepsiCo and UPS are working with the electric truck builder to construct on site charging terminals at their facilities as Tesla ramps up production of its new truck next year These firms are among nine major logistics providers in North America that have placed pre orders for the new electric truck According to the report details of the deal are still under negotiation but will include design and engineering input from Tesla Reuters notes that the agreement bolsters Musks claims that Tesla can put a charging network in place in time to support the new truck and is in fact working to overcome one of the most widely cited shortcomings in his publicly stated plans for the Semi truck The agreement is also a strong indication that Tesla truck customers are taking both the vehicle and its deployment seriously and working with the company to ensure as smooth a launch as possible once the trucks enter production Reuters reports the companies it spoke to indicated their initial effort will be to install charging equipment on their own premises with the first Tesla Semis deployed on routes that will return them to their home base at the end of a daily run before the batteries run down Reuters also said that Tesla is also working on establishing its own network of electric truck stops which will sell electric charges to truckers Tesla already operates more than 1100 supercharger stations globally for drivers of its passenger cars Musk noted during the Semi launch last fall Tesla intends to construct a network of solar powered megachargers that he said could recharge a Semi truck battery in as little as 30 minutes However the report also noted that Tesla is stretched thin and burning cash raising more questions as to how quickly the company is capable of putting the planned truckoriented charging network in place Some analysts and trucking executives the report adds doubt that Tesla can deliver the Semi in 2019 much less a vast charging infrastructure to support it

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